Contradictory Affection
by ThunderMastery24
Summary: -One could say that nothing in the world could be more beautiful than love. However, even something that can seem charming on the surface can have the gravest contradiction of them all. One-shot.


_Zeref?_

A gentle breeze caressed his face.

 _Zeref._

Flower petals danced in the air.

 _Zeref! Wake up!_

Cracking an eye open, he saw the pouting face of Mavis Vermillion. "What is it?" He muttered sleepily.

Mavis sat down on his chest. She looked intently at him before speaking. "I'm bored Zeref."

Zeref chuckled. "And what do you want me to do about it?"

Mavis huffed. "I want to play."

"And what would you want to play?" Zeref cracked a small smile.

Mavis seemed to be lost in thought. "Hide-and-Seek!"

"Hide-and-Seek?" Zeref echoed, raising an eyebrow.

Mavis nodded her head enthusiastically.

Zeref rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I'll count." Zeref closed his eyes. "And you go and hide."

"Don't fall asleep Zeref." Mavis said.

Zeref chuckled again. "Don't worry Mavis, I won't."

"You better not." Mavis said and Zeref could almost hear the warning glare in her voice.

"One, two, three…" Zeref began, a smile coming to his face as he heard Mavis running off into the forest to hide, laughing.

* * *

"Twenty." Zeref finished before standing up. He looked around. "I wonder where Mavis could be."

Walking through the forest, he couldn't help noticing how elusive Mavis could be.

 _Like a fairy._ He thought with a quirk of his mouth.

"Mavis?" Zeref called. "Where are you?"

Silence.

He cupped his chin thoughtfully. "Now where could she be hiding?"

Looking up, all he saw was the expansive branches of the trees. They broke haphazardly in places to reveal the clear blue sky. The sky could fill one with hope for the future.

He turned downcast. His obsidian hair falling lazily over his black eyes.

 _With me in this world, there is no future._

He raised his head slightly before letting out a sigh. He chuckled bitterly, finding it ironic how, when he appreciated life, he could do nothing but destroy it, but when he looked upon life with derision, he could control his magic.

He smiled sadly. Only two people in this entire world wouldn't run away in fright or look at him with disgust and call him a monster or a demon. One being the pale blonde-haired, green-eyed girl he was searching for.

As for the other person...Zeref preferred not to think about _him_.

Shaking his head, he focused on the task at hand.

"Speaking of which…" Zeref started before scratching his head. "Where is she anyway?"

Unbeknownst to him, the girl in question was hanging her legs over a tree branch as she kicked the air. The tree was close enough for Zeref to eventually come across it, but it was far enough away that neither could see the other.

* * *

Mavis giggled mischievously as she sat on her perch. Being the adventurous and reckless person she is, climbing was almost second nature.

"I wonder if Zeref will be able to find me up here." Mavis took an apple hanging above her and rubbed it against her dress before taking a bite from it. "Delicious!"

She began to take more and more bites until the apple was nothing but the core. She lay on the branch, staring up at the sky. It made her giggle. The world was such an interesting and expansive place.

"I wonder if perhaps I hid too well." Mavis furrowed her eyebrows.

Mavis become more comfortable on the branch as she moved. She yawned drowsily.

"I guess," Mavis murmured, her eyelids falling. "a little nap wouldn't hurt."

Before she fell asleep though, the apple core that was in Mavis' left hand rolled out of her open palm and fell to the ground. She was so tired, she didn't even hear the pained _ouch!_ that followed.

* * *

Zeref rubbed his head, having arrived at the apple tree Mavis was perched on. Before he could think about where she had gone, something hit him square in the head.

"An apple core?" Zeref examined the fruit's remains before discarding it, a small rodent coming from out of nowhere. The mouse picked it up, sniffed it, and scurried off from whence the small animal came from. Pausing for a moment, he looked around. "But where did it come from?"

He shortly saw apples hanging on the branches above him. He cracked a smile at what else he saw up there.

"Is that Mavis?" Zeref shook his head. "Crazy and impulsive as always, aren't you?"

He debated methods of getting her attention.

"I could call up to her," Zeref contemplated. "but that might cause her to tumble of the tree." He eyed the tree trunk in front of him before sighing. "What am I supposed to do? Climb the tree?" Zeref sighed once more. "Guess that's my only option."

As he tried to climb up the impressive foliage in front of him, he fell down the tree. He tried scrambling up the tree, but that was to no avail. A hand cupping his chin, he walked around the tree as he analyzed it; searching for an opening in which to ascend.

Just as he was about to give up, he found a section of the tree that he could use as foot- and hand-holds. Several minutes later - he felt like it took hours - Zeref was on the branch that Mavis was sleeping peacefully on.

As Zeref regarded her slight form, he smiled tenderly at her.

However, before he could get any closer, it was like someone had turned a switch as she woke up. Mavis' eyes were sharp with attentiveness.

"Zeref!" Mavis exclaimed cheerfully. "You found me!"

Zeref chuckled. "Yes, looks like I have."

They descended the tree - well, Mavis climbed down the tree while halfway down in his descent, Zeref slipped on a foothold and tumbled from the tree onto the hard ground.

"Ouch." Zeref groaned. "And _that_ is why I don't climb trees."

Mavis stood over him as he was laying on the ground. "Zeref, are you okay?"

Zeref cracked a dry smile. "I just fell down a tree, what do you think?"

"I'll take that as a no."

"Speaking of things falling down trees, did you happen to drop an apple on my head?"

Mavis looked puzzled for a moment before smiling sheepishly. "I may have eaten an apple and forgot about the core. Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. I'm stronger than that."

Zeref stood up. Although, his legs were wobbling and he ended up almost falling. As he steadied himself, he saw that Mavis fixed him with a disapproving stare.

"What?"

"The fact that you struggled to stand up and given the small knot forming on the back of your head say otherwise."

She wrapped her arms around his torso, pressed the side of her face against his chest, her disapproving stare remaining. "You should be more careful than that."

Zeref arched an eyebrow at that. "Says the little girl who recklessly climbs up trees."

"I can't help it!" As she looked up at him, he saw that familiar spark shift inside her eyes. "Life is a magical and exciting adventure after all!"

"If you say so." Zeref said as he tenderly stroked her pale blonde hair. His expression darkened. "If only my magic could be-"

"Zeref." Mavis warned.

"Sorry, it's just-"

"I know," Mavis regarded him with a stern look. The sight of such a look sent chills racing down Zeref's spine. And this wasn't even her _worst_ look. May fortune help I'm if she glared at him.

She smiled and nuzzled up against his chest, causing some blood to rush to his face. "regardless, I'll always be there for you. No matter what and in any way possible. Even if you end up disregarding the value of life once more, I'll be sure to put a stop to you."

Zeref smiled at Mavis' sincerity and genuine feelings of wanting to help him. He hugged her tightly, wondering what he had done to deserve her.

 _Certainly not the fact that you killed so many innocents._

"Thank you Mavis." He said, the words containing much for meaning than could be simply stated.

"No problem Zeref, except…" Mavis started.

"What is it?"

"You're crushing me."

Zeref recoiled back as his face became inflamed with embarrassment. "Sorry Mavis, I didn't mean to!"

"It's okay Zeref." Mavis reassured. Faster than Zeref could blink, she tackled him to the ground. "Takes a lot more than that to get me down."

Zeref chuckled. "Your happy mood never ceases to amaze me."

The statement caused Mavis' expression to turn solemn as she rested her head on Zeref's chest. "Faires don't appear to those who cry." She murmured quietly before grabbing the folds of Zeref's robes in her hands.

He looked at her with sympathy. "Well, we can't have you crying, now can we?"

"Huh?" Mavis said as she looked at him, releasing his robes.

Zeref smiled warmly at her. "You're too beautiful to cry."

At that, Mavis felt some blood rush to her face. "Thank you Zeref."

"What are you thanking me for?" Zeref looked at her quizzically. "I thought that would be obvious."

Mavis giggled as Zeref pulled the pale-blonde girl closer to himself. Sighing contently, she snuggled closer into Zeref's embrace.

"Mavis, you certainly are the strangest person I have ever met." Zeref commented.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Mavis said.

"I wouldn't be one to insult you." Zeref began to stroke her pale-blonde locks.

"I know that Zeref."

"Good." Zeref pressed his lips against her hair.

"I love you Zeref."

"You would be...the first." Zeref remarked, his tone sounding faraway as he felt he might've said something he would regret.

Looking up, Mavis stared at Zeref; analyzed his features, trying to decipher the face beneath the mask. Sighing, she gazed at him.

"I love you Mavis." Zeref said as he placed a hand on the side of Mavis' face. "No matter what."

Mavis covered the hand touching her cheek with her own, closing her eyes as she leaned into his touch.

She opened her eyes before pressing an innocent kiss to his cheek. She turned over so her back was on Zeref's chest.

"The weather is nice today." Mavis commented as a breeze floated by. "Simply beautiful."

"Yes, it is." Zeref put a strand of her pale-blonde hair in his hand before twirling it around absently.

"Zeref…" Mavis blushed.

"Breaktaking as well." He added.

As her blush increased imperceptibly, Mavis' eyes widened as they sparkled; struck by an idea.

"I know just the place for an even better view." She declared, lifting an arm into the air.

"You do?" Zeref asked. "Where is it?"

As she stood up and motioned for the black-haired mage to do the same, her eyes glittered with a mischievous spirit. "A cliff."

He arched an eyebrow. "A cliff?"

"Have to see it for yourself."

"Okay then, lead the way."

Several moments passed by in silence as they regarded each other.

"Mavis, are you planning on going?"

Mavis simply smiled. "I want you to carry me."

"You want me to," Zeref started, giving her a skeptical gaze. "carry you?"

Mavis nodded her head as she walked behind him.

With a good-natured sigh, he crouched down to allow Mavis to hop on his back.

"Thank you Zeref." Mavis said as she was situated on his back.

"Comfortable?" Zeref asked.

Mavis snuggled closer into Zeref's back. "Yes, I am."

"Good." Zeref said with a smile. "Now where did you say this cliff was?"

* * *

As they sat on the cliff, it was quite a picture. The sun was setting on the horizon, making the sky become colored with the charming hues of twilight. The cool breeze flowed by as the degressed dropped. The waves lapped lazily against the cliff as a group of ten birds flew off from the trees into the distance.

Zeref was sitting cross-legged on the ground as Mavis sat in his lap.

"You're right Mavis," Zeref remarked. "It _is_ quite a view."

"Yeah." Mavis said as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "It is."

Zeref's expression seemed to darken. "If only the rest of the world appreciated beautiful things instead of existing in an endless downward spiral of hatred and suffering. Treachery and self-indulgence. Constantly killing and stealing. No end in sight to the abhorrent nature of humanity and their-mphf!?"

What the black-haired mage was going to say next was left unknown when a blur of pale-blonde hair pressed her lips gently against his. As she pulled away, she left a wide-eyed Zeref in her wake.

"Mavis?" Zeref said. His voice sounded halfway between its usual tone and a hoarse whisper.

Mavis smiled softly at him. "Good, what you were saying was getting on my nerves."

"It isn't like what I was saying was wrong." Zeref said as he looked away.

"Zeref, look at me." Mavis said.

As he did, he was startled by the glare she was giving him. He believed he would never get use to how terrifying it could be.

"What is it Mavis?" He asked, a glare working its way onto Zeref's face.

"Zeref, while you may think that humanity is a flawed and despicable race of liars and cheaters-"

"And murderers." Zeref interrupted.

"You fail to acknowledge something else as well."

Resisting the urge to scoff at that, the black-haired mage thought how wrong she was. "And what would that be?" He asked instead.

"The love that humans possess." Mavis answered. "Their art, music, literature. Their devotion to each other and the unbreakable resilient spirit that exists within them."

"How can you think so optimistically about them?" Zeref asked. "If you acknowledge their glaringly obvious flaws, then _why?_ "

"Of course humans have their flaws." Mavis said. "They are tragically flawed and yet at the same time that is what makes them intrinsically beautiful. While there are humans that treat each other poorly, mock them, scoff at them, spit on them, lie and cheat each other and murder each other in cold blood, the rest of the world isn't like that.

There are people who would _die_ for each other out of the love that they feel for each other. That they would give their last waking moment to see them smile or laugh. They console one another, hug each other close. Love each other with the boundless empathy of their hearts. Protect them fiercely with all their might. While you may think of them as a despicable race that deserves harsh annihilation, you must take their negative and positive traits at the same time."

At the end of her speech, a determined glint shone in Mavis' eyes before she hugged the black-haired mage's torso and buried the side of her face in his chest.

"After all," She added quietly. "there is more love in this world and between humans than you know."

Hugging her back, Zeref spoke up. "While I will admit you made a few valid points, the argument still stands. I'm sorry Mavis, but I just _cannot_ ignore the selfishness and arrogance and hatred that exists within each and every human heart. I suppose there are several humans that embody the virtues that you speak of, but most of humanity exists on the opposite side of the spectrum."

The pale-blonde girl in his arms sighed. "Well, I don't expect you to change your views. And I have a feeling that you will _never_ see humanity as anything, but a race of murderers and liars. I suppose that is okay: you choose to focus on the negative aspects of humanity while I prefer to accept the flaws of humanity, but also take in the more positive aspects of their existence as well."

"How you can see _any_ positive aspects in them is beyond me." Zeref muttered.

"I suppose it's a matter of perception." Mavis mused as she looked up at Zeref. "People _choose_ what they want to see."

"I disagree." Zeref said as he looked down into Mavis' eyes. Black staring onto green. "The cruelty that I see is _not_ some sort of illusion."

"And the kindness I see is not an illusion either." Mavis retorted.

Two two stared each other down before Zeref sighed.

"I will admit one thing," He started. "I find it incredible how our views can differ to such a drastic degree, but there is no one I care for more."

"I agree." Mavis said with a laugh. "Opposites attract after all."

"Yeah." Zeref says as he smiled tenderly. He gazed at the descending sun. "I suppose you're right."

The two of them rest there until the moon ascended into the sky, deciding then to return to the forest to rest for the night. The lights of the stars providing their only light.

* * *

Waking with a start, Mavis Vermillion lifts her ethereal head from the bar of the Fairy Tail Guild. Casting a look around, she notices how she seems to be the only one present. Even those of whom who end up getting plastered from a rewarding day of going on missions and drinking are absent, having either gone home of their own free will well before it got dark, or forcibly removed by Mirajane Strauss. The deceptively older female allows a slight smile to ghost across her features as she thinks of how violent one of the guild's children can be underneath her polite exterior.

However, the smile fades and her eyes harden to jade as she contemplates her recent dream. Or recurring nightmare given its flagrant disparity with reality. She sighs, hopping off the bar stool before walking to the entrance of the guild hall, opening the doors, and closing them behind her before gazing up at the starry night sky.

"Zeref." She murmurs softly. Mavis supposes it's a certain kind of cruelty that lies behind her dreams of time long past. To dream of someone you once loved, of one who had inadvertently killed you in their own self-destructive pursuit of something to slay him.

She turns her eyes to the horizon, a hard set to her features as she knows that the inevitable battle grows ever nearer. And how she will do _anything_ to protect her guild. Even if it ends with a grand personal cost to her own self, Mavis knows that, should and when the time come, she will not hesitate to do that which she must. No matter what.

 ** _Originally Added: June 4th, 2016_**


End file.
